63A. Equine teacher of Japan?: HORSE SENSEI. Horse Sense. Sensei is Japanese for "teacher". Literally "one who was born first". Sen = First. Sei = Birth. Same as Chinese. One syllable to two syllable as well. And the only I that's attached to the end of a vowel rather than a consonant.

All of the four theme answers have 11 letters. Quite scrabbly. I spotted 4 Z's.

Thank you for the sweet comments/emails yesterday, everyone. They meant a lot to me. I was eligible for citizenship six years ago, but had never seriously considered becoming an American until I started this blog and got to know all of you on a daily basis. You have made a huge difference in my life. Thank you.

88 comments:

Good morning, C.C.C. and gang - this was a great Friday puzzle for me - challenging, lots of fresh cluing. The theme, once it became obvious with 'Dean Martini' helped fill in big chunks the rest of the way.I had the same favorite fresh clues as C.C.C., along with 'tag determiners', and I also put in 'endow' for 14A. 'Unitards' reminded me of my workout gear, and 'Loran' will always make me think of a night boat trip I had no business trying. 'Abram' was a recent answer. My two unknowns were 'kip' and 'anse'.

C.C.C., I believe the Secret Service uses the FN P90 now; the uzi was phased out several years ago. Oh, and your comment, "You have made a huge difference in my life" -- please don't hold that against us.

Today is Hug Your Cat Day and National Eat a Doughnut Day. Might be fun to confuse the two...

Friday already! Hello all. A rare LA Times effort from Ms. Blakley, (1st since November?) and a reasonably challenging effort with some really new stuff. I begin with INVEST, AS WITH A QUALITY: ENDUE, I had the hardest time letting go of ENDOW, to me it was DEMEANest clue. And, despite watching CSI, I was slowed by AUTO P_Y, since I am not familiar with the perhaps controversial ODES OF SOLOMON .

I really enjoyed DEAN MARTINI and NOT OVER YETI (what a nice way to use and old word). I also had trouble with Popeye, as I thought it was I YAMS, which did not fit.

I am not much of A Faulkner fan, but the ANSEr came to me from dome deep recess in my brain. I like all of the “Z” words, but think we all know a surfer comment is going to apply to the internet not the ocean.

On one of my first trips to LA I rode the elevator in the Continental “Riot” House with JOHN LENNON but I did not bring up YOKO. The NY lawyer who heloed me in the music business was one of his lawyer’s. I like the lyric, “in the middle of the night” the way he uses it.

I am going to SKIRT a DOZEN or so other comments on clues I liked, because I want to leave all the UNITARD comments to our cast of ‘TARDS.

Good Morning, CC. You truly compliment us by saying those of us on the blog were your inspiration to become an American Citizen. We are truly honored to have you join our ranks. As was noted yesterday, you now know more of American history than most of us, and could be our teacher.

This puzzle almost did me in, but I soldiered on and completed it, with a bit of help from my google friend.

I never heard of ODES of Solomon. I thought it was Song of Solomon.

Who knew a Christmas tree wore a SKIRT?

We had a Leotard recently and now a UNITARD. If you have never seen a Cirque du Soleil show, I recommend it. Amazing!

I didn't know that KIP could also mean sleep.

My favorite clues were: Popeye's Verb = YAM andUnkeyed = ATONAL.

I once had a PEZ dispenser. I never really understood the purpose, though.

A bit off topic, puzzle-wise, but topical in the Gulf are the Brown Pelicans. Unfortunately, this sight is all to common now.

QOD: Ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. ~ James Baldwin

I really do not keep track, but I remember her first puzzle created a little contretemps between our own Jerome and the ever opinionated Rex Parker, about the number of female constructors, solvers etc. It was heated, and RP commented he did not know KELSEY was a female, as the only one he knew was KELSEY GRAMMER (whose real first name is ALAN). Memory is all about tags, and that stuck in my head.

You all need to read more British mysteries and kip would be a gimme. Do any of you read M. C. Beaton's HAMISH MACBETH series?

I am still waiting for our MIA's to drop by and say something to our CCC, c'mon guys, it only takes a minute

Tough puzzle today! I started out on the wrong foot by putting IMBUE instead of ENDUE for 14A, and things kind of went downhill from there. The SW corner was the second to last area to fall for me, due to my complete ignorance of the word KIP and my continued resistance to accepting "wheel" as shorthand for "big wheel." I mean, seriously -- who refers to anybody in power simply as a wheel?

The roughest spot of all, however, was the east central section. Even though I had figured out the theme by then, I couldn't imagine a legendary giant that ended in "i" (silly me, but I never thought of YETIs actually being giants) and I was having trouble parsing the beginning of the answer (what the heck does "NO TOVE" mean?) I ran through all the possible things one could put on a Christmas tree, and SKIRT wasn't anywhere on my list. I've never heard of OH YOKO, and EZINE is another one of those words whose existence I generally refuse to acknowledge.

As for the rest of the puzzle, it was perfectly fine. I didn't know ANSE and barely remembered LORAN, but the perps took care of those. And thank heavens I remembered who (and what) Clyde was! I was also very proud of myself for knowing where PEZ came from and who created Sadie Hawkins day.

Challenging puzzle today. Needed red letter help for KIP and ENDUE. Theme words were fun and fell easily. NOT OVER YET I and TERMS had clever clues. Also liked HORSE SENSE I. Forgot, at first, that Clyde was an ORANG and not a 'chimp'.

Today is the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.

Off for a long weekend to the Bay State to help celebrate the 1st birthday of our granddaughter.

Theme became obvious from HORSE SENSEI since (again) I worked from the bottom up.

Got stuck until I realized I was over thinking a few clues.Like Sauce with a kick, HOTSurfer's read, EZINENot bland, TASTY.Mag wheels, EDS.

Had Song before ODES. Decided then the perps were doing a better job than I was.It is DEMEAN, hence Endow must be ENDUE.This went on and on through the slog.ON ME and TRUST ME, hmmm. probably something about these but OK by ME.

c.c.: what a wonderful comment to make that this blog inspired you to become an American. Whatever the reason, we are so happy that you are one of us.

This puzzle was great, with a lot of great cluing. Some of my errors in the beginning were: woo instead of coo; onion (bagel) instead of dozen; spicy, then tangy instead of tasty; it's true instead of trust me! All doable, but lots of write overs and in pen!

First tough one of the week. Took 45 minutes, and I still missed one. I got EDS at 69A but didn't understand it until I checked the solutions. Couldn't figure out ADAS at 3D, so I missed ENDUE at 14A. I don't think I've ever seen or heard the word "endue" before. Never heard of UNITARDS at 10D either.The NE corner was the last to be solved. A few tricky clues. The puzzle theme was helpful also.

Good morning, C.C. Let me add my congratulations on your becoming a Citizen. My wife spent several months earlier this year helping one of her co-workers study for his (successful) test so I have some sense of how exciting and rewarding it can be.

On to the puzzle. Started very slowly, even tho I got PAYROLL TAXI early. I could not get DEAN even tho I had MARTINI; I was stuck on wanting head something or vice something and was semi sure that MARTINI had to be wrong. Aargh.

I did not like the clue for 21A. I do not think of an autopsy as being an inspection; inspection implies only looking.

I also do not equate tasty as being the opposite of bland. My dictionary has gentle, agreeable, nonirritating as definitions for bland. As g8rmom stated, I thought of spicy, zesty, tangy, zippy etc.

Hi C.C. & gang, a tough puzzle again for Friday, I think that (we) only got 1/4 or so of it done before my wife left for work. Somehow 59D: TSPS or teaspoons reminded me of this Julie Andrews movie scene.

As has been noted, this was a challenging Friday puzzle. With Adam Bede, Shamu, Loran and Dean Martini I hit my stride; it went smoothly along through the center and bottom. But I skidded badly on YAM, KIP, OH YOKO, AND YETI. UNITARDS was never in my sight because I filled PLAIN instead of dozen for bagel.

ANSE just emerged since it has been many decades from reading AS I LAY DYING.

ESL in the puzzle always draws a smile and yes, C.C., I know how difficult it is for someone to achieve what you did by learning English as a second language and with a perfect score! Again, congratulations and we toasted you at dinner last night. I told my daughter, SIL and granddaughter of your accomplishments.

Although it's painful when a xwd causes so much head scratching and shaking out the dormant cells, it tells me I have soooooooooo much yet to learn.

Good Morning CC, et al., Happy Friday!!! Cute theme. Good and hard...just how I like it esp on Friday! The perps took care of what I didn't know except for the SE corner. Wanted chimp not orang and bang up = neat threw me off. No par is foreign to me but somehow 'kip' jumped right in there. In light of our latest discussions & with Dennis in mind, the thrill of it all was:Unitards! Holy Hotwick! It created yet another 'hot' heavenly vision ensconced in radiating bright lights with the majestic angel trumpets introducing the celestial voices beautifully singing 'allelujah'. The very image just makes tears of joy flow down my cheeks. It's just so..so...inspiring! Thank you, Dennis.

Enjoy your night. It's prom night here followed with after prom fun. Brings back memories I'm sure. Any stories...that can be shared?

Good Morning All, Of course the first LOL of the day was with 10D UNITARD. French trapeze artist Jules Léotard called his costume a maillot, but it definitely looks like a one-piece-covers-all UNITARD. Does anyone else notice a distinct resemblance to Dennis? Grand père grand, perhaps?

I got the theme as soon as DEAN MARTINI was filled. Placing the I at the end of the rest of the theme answers didn't really help a lot, but on a Friday, I'll take what I can get.

Definite Friday difficulty here. I never would have filled in LORAN, ATONAL or ANSE without the perps. ODES would seem simple, but if you've never heard of "ODES of Solomon"....

Nice to see 22D OH YOKO. I really liked the everyday sentiment of the song.

No problem with 62A YAM. I Yam What I Yam from the movie Popeye, a long-time favorite. I'm not a big Robin Williams comedy fan, he is usually too antic for me, but I like him as an actor.

I agree with Jazz that "EYE TO . . . is rather an odd partial". I'm not sure that the Anon@10:25 connection isn't a stretch. The clue is "We don't see __ ...", not "We do see __ ..." EYE(I) TO EYE(I). Maybe Ms. Blakely will check in to let us know if it was purposeful or not.

Hmmm..."Breakfast Test"? Does MANURE or AUTOPSY make anybody squeamish? Are there really some words that shouldn't be used in morning?

I am only an occasional dabbler in Xwords, but I did manage to complete yesterday's ( that too, unaided ! ) ... even though I was out of town, professionally very busy and had no time or thought to access my personal computer to check up on your blog.

Today, I gave up early ... well, Fridays are tough ....

Curiously, I look forward to your blog, because it is intellectual and non-controversial, though I am, in principle, averse to blogs of all kinds.

I especially love the hypertext in your blog and the readers' letters where I can learn more about the answers, that I had only guessed at. That is very educational and serendipitously informative.

I detest most personal and political rants .... exactly what I am going to write about just now.

So, readers, if you are like me ..... just skip the rest of my letter.

C.C. , a hearty congratulations on procuring your new US citizenship ( as of yesterday) ....

To all those who think ( and wrote ) that a US citizenship is a panacea to all ills, I would like to offer a contra-opinion.

I became a US Citizen in 1980. I never studied for any test - just winged it - like my drivers test, but I do read a lot anyway, and I did help extensively with my kids' homework on US history and civics, so I knew the answer to your Federalist Papers question .... atleast two of them.I was eligible for the SSA draft in 1971, ( even before I was a US citizen ... ) and I got a low draft number, but never got drafted, so I guess that makes me only half as patriotic as those that were.... To say whether I would have served had I been drafted, is a question that is moot and would only be self serving.

I have an above average education, with 2 graduate degrees, an above average income, and am VERY fluent in ( the Queen's ) English ( it IS my first language ... ). I qualified for the MENSA but declined to join.

But C.C. .... an average american man ( or woman ) on the street ... especially those in an official capacity ( read cops, Govt agents and the like ) - will continue to judge you on a criteria in which merit, academic scholarship or US citizenship will play NO part.

In this US world of multi-culture and multi-ethnicity, nothing will change, and you will continue to be judged primarily, based on,

.... and a US citizenship, whether framed in Silver or Gold, does not count for a hill of beans.

By the way, the citizenship process allows you to change (3) , your name, should you feel insecure enough ( or devious enough ) to do so.

About $ 8,000 and six months will get you a study program, to get you to change your 'foreign' accent, should you feel desperate.

But (1) and (2) , you cannot change , short of radical plastic surgery....

As for politics, you will stand a better chance of winning 'American Idol' than winning an election as county dogcatcher.

According to Pew reports, over 86 % of voters ( especially, those who DO vote .... ) vote so, based on race, name and ethnicity.

Barack Obama was lucky to be the right man at the right place at the right time .... and he was a born ( and "birthed" ) US citizen ... as the US Constitution requires.

When he decided to chose a Chinese-American ( Steven Chu ) as a Secretary of Cabinet rank, who had to be confirmed by the US Senate ... the guy had to be a Nobel Prize winner , to boot, the only such person so chosen.

But, as for US Citizenship, that important piece of paper, still retains value. Trust me, from a person who has owned one for oodles of time, there is some upside to owning a US passport .... the TSA agents at the airports still treat you with suspicion, bordering on outright contempt - but they cant ship you off to 'Gitmo' .... that is the exclusive preserve of aliens.

I am only an occasional dabbler in Xwords, but I did manage to complete yesterday's ( that too, unaided ! ) ... even though I was out of town, professionally very busy and had no time or thought to access my personal computer to check up on your blog.

Today, I gave up early ... well, Fridays are tough ....

Curiously, I look forward to your blog, because it is intellectual and non-controversial, though I am, in principle, averse to blogs of all kinds.

I especially love the hypertext in your blog and the readers' letters where I can learn more about the answers, that I had only guessed at. That is very educational and serendipitously informative.

I detest most personal and political rants .... exactly what I am going to write about just now.

So, readers, if you are like me ..... just skip the rest of my letter.

C.C. , a hearty congratulations on procuring your new US citizenship ( as of yesterday) ....

To all those who think ( and wrote ) that a US citizenship is a panacea to all ills, I would like to offer a contra-opinion.

I became a US Citizen in 1980. I never studied for any test - just winged it - like my drivers test, but I do read a lot anyway, and I did help extensively with my kids' homework on US history and civics, so I knew the answer to your Federalist Papers question .... atleast two of them.I was eligible for the SSA draft in 1971, ( even before I was a US citizen ... ) and I got a low draft number, but never got drafted, so I guess that makes me only half as patriotic as those that were.... To say whether I would have served had I been drafted, is a question that is moot and would only be self serving.

I have an above average education, with 2 graduate degrees, an above average income, and am VERY fluent in ( the Queen's ) English ( it IS my first language ... ). I qualified for the MENSA but declined to join.

But C.C. .... an average american man ( or woman ) on the street ... especially those in an official capacity ( read cops, Govt agents and the like ) - will continue to judge you on a criteria in which merit, academic scholarship or US citizenship will play NO part.

In this US world of multi-culture and multi-ethnicity, nothing will change, and you will continue to be judged primarily, based on,

.... and a US citizenship, whether framed in Silver or Gold, does not count for a hill of beans.

By the way, the citizenship process allows you to change (3) , your name, should you feel insecure enough ( or devious enough ) to do so.

About $ 8,000 and six months will get you a study program, to get you to change your 'foreign' accent, should you feel desperate.

But (1) and (2) , you cannot change , short of radical plastic surgery....

As for politics, you will stand a better chance of winning 'American Idol' than winning an election as county dogcatcher.

According to Pew reports, over 86 % of voters ( especially, those who DO vote .... ) vote so, based on race, name and ethnicity.

Barack Obama was lucky to be the right man at the right place at the right time .... and he was a born ( and "birthed" ) US citizen ... as the US Constitution requires.

When he decided to chose a Chinese-American ( Steven Chu ) as a Secretary of Cabinet rank, who had to be confirmed by the US Senate ... the guy had to be a Nobel Prize winner , to boot, the only such person so chosen.

But, as for US Citizenship, that important piece of paper, still retains value. Trust me, from a person who has owned one for oodles of time, there is some upside to owning a US passport .... the TSA agents at the airports still treat you with suspicion, bordering on outright contempt - but they cant ship you off to 'Gitmo' .... that is the exclusive preserve of aliens.

Again, gong xi to you! Here is a perfect song after seeing CROW in today's c/w.Mary Martin was fabulous in "Peter Pan."

The up side to this puzzle is that I knew most people would love its difficulty. I, on the other hand, I yam what I yam. Too many unknowns. I even had to look up firth (I knew it wasn't Colin).I had 1/2 answers(martini, payroll) and many of my 1st and 2nd guesses were RED.Loved: alien's subject, sentence lengths, and inspection requiring scales.

It's so funny how we all differ.While Bob, who usually jets thru these harder ones, had a difficult time with the NE corner...that is the only corner that came right away.

JimmyB, we also used a "snowy" white bedsheet for our tree. Our daughter recently replaced it with something that has to hang on a hanger in the closet all year.

It is obvious that Gary D'Indian has had some unpleasant discriminatory experiences in his life. But to say, figuratively, that United States citizenship and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks is pretty extreme.

I know, I know, it may not deserve more comment, but....

Gary has had an excellent education, has a high paying career and probably has a family and home of whom he is proud. That is not a possibility for ethnic minorities in many other countries.

Is he saying that Mr. Obama was elected because of luck? That is very different than being "the right man at the right place at the right time".

Isn't it probable that Steven Chu was selected as Secretary of Energy for many talents and accomplishments. I rather doubt that the appointment of a Chinese-American would hinge on whether or not he had won a Nobel Prize.

It is sadly true, there is discrimination in America. (Gary, you forgot to add Religion as #5 on your list of differences that Americans distrust.) I consider myself to be an "average American" and I do notice if a person has a different skin color than my own and if they have an accent other than my own. Does it matter to me? Absolutely not. I usually consider it an opportunity to learn about a different culture and language.

It's unfortunate that Gary has never had a pleasant exchange with another American of a different background. Maybe that has as much to do with attitude as with bigotry.

"The fees may be waived if the applicant can document his inability to pay and submits a written request with supporting documentation. There is no USCIS form to apply for a fee waiver, but you may use the Fee Waiver Form developed by Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), a non-profit legal service provider, based on the forms used by several other agencies, including HIAS. You’ll need to document your income and expenses and prove your inability to pay."

For once it wasn’t the theme that did me in as I got Dean Martini, payroll taxi, and not over Yeti right away. I didn’t like a bit of a tryst exchange – coo. I can honestly say I have never been “cooed” to. Am I missing something? I had to hit the g-spot more than once, but hey it’s Friday afterall. I thought tag determiners – ump was clever too Dennis. I got Abram, Anse, and kip from the perps.

Dennis, I really need to see that picture of you in your “workout” unitard.

Congrats CC on your citizenship. I got mine in 1958 and have always valued it. The questions for the test were pretty simple then. May have changed by now. I do remember the meaningful ceremony with sponsors by my side.Re the Xword. I love this website as now I can actually finish the puzzle and get explanations for clues I missed. Learning something all the time. Am not a blogger and am reluctant to set up an account. Keep up the good work. MMW.

GDI,There is not a place on the planet, including (maybe especially) both Merry Olde England and India, one of which must be your homeland, where the people and the culture are not discriminatory. Your rant suggests that you have only recently come into this knowledge. It is an unfortunate fact that human nature includes a mistrust and often hate for the "other". America and Americans have no corner on this characteristic. As for your denigration of citizenship, natural or naturalized, have you considered renouncing yours? You despise political rants, then proceed to issue one. I think we (both the blog and the country) can get along without you.

We (the United States) have our issues; a little genocide, a bit of slavery, maybe some imperialistic tendencies every now and then. But we have higher ideals to aspire (and try to live up to) than any nation in history. We're working on it.

I think that in any other context, there are many here who would agree with certain aspects of your rant. But your primary offense, and the reason you are getting your ass (verbally) chewed, is that you are the first ingrate in two days (and I hope the last) to sully the accomplishment of one we all care a great deal about and are very proud to be associated with, virtually. Please go away.

I see I have nothing fresh to add, you've found all the tricks and traps that got me. A good Friday exercise!

Never heard of OH YOKO or ENDUE. Got snagged on EYE TO. Had to Goog CAPP and ZORBA. Loved YAM!

About LORAN: this started out as a marine navigation system, and as the on-board equipment got better, versions for aircraft became ragingly popular in the 80's. However, with the explosion of GPS, the government decided to shut down the U.S. LORAN stations to save money. This was done Feb.10. The move was controversial because GPS is theoretically more vulnerable to enemy jamming or disabling, and because LORAN was a relatively inexpensive back-up. Oh well.

I have not had time to visit the Corner for the past two days but would like to comment on a few posts.

First, let me add my congratulations to C.C. on becoming a United States citizen.

Secondly, since no one replied Thursday to C.C.'s query for clarification on the identity of lichen ("The brownish mossy stuff?")I submit the following:

No, the brown mossy stuff is moss. Lichen is the white or blueish-green growth.

According to James Nardi in his book, Life in the Soil (University of Chigago Press), lichen and algae are the first obvious signs of life on barren surfaces. Neither algae or fungi but a symbiotic partnership of the two, it is able to survive adverse conditions that neither of the algal or fungal partner could do on its own.

Lichens occupy about 8 percent of the earth's land surface and can live for a hundred years or more in one place. After many generations, they eat their way into the rocks, breaking them down. The organic acids that are unique to lichens combines with other elements from rocks to enhance the solubility of these elements in the soil.

C.C., don’t let anyone detract from the feelings of pride and accomplishment you’ve earned! You’re the one person I’ve know who received their citizenship and rather than saying “what can I get out of this country now”, you immediately said “what can I give to this country now”! You’ve impressed me from the time I first read the blog, and continue to do so all the time.

Concerning today's puzzle, I went straight for SEX, before settling down to COO, as well. And HONEST didn’t fit for TRUST ME.

The only theme answer I completely got on my own was DEAN MARTIN I, so I thought it was about people or drinks, and couldn’t see any similarity between those features and the other theme clues. I’m annoyed with myself for not seeing YETI, since I had 9 of the letters and was only missing the E & I. I couldn’t separate the Y from VERY.

We always (and I still do) use a white sheet as snow under the tree instead of a skirt. Then I lay the manger scene on it, and whatever other things I have on hand to decorate it. I always have the scene from “White Christmas” in mind when they were singing in the club car of the train and made a “Snow” scene with their napkins and some small greenery.

Annette, White Christmas was a fun movie and I remember the Snow Song too. Did you notice at 1:34 Danny Kaye moved the napkin and wrecks the snow scene, but at 1:40 it is there again. I surprised that made it past the movie's continuity people. As I was watching the video, what I found even more interesting was Vera Ellen's cone shaped bra. LOL, I'm so glad those days are over!

My first mistake was to read past the first solution page of this blog. My bad.

My second mistake was reading and 'deciding to contribute to' a purely personal matter, not germane to the main aim of this blog. Since I am not a member of your close coterie or inner circle, I had no right to do that. That was a cardinal sin. I thought I could add a point of view, ( even though unpopular and against the prevailing current ... ) that the intellectuals could appreciate in an academic setting ( I presumed this was a scholars' room ) without casting undue aspersions on the messenger. I guess I was wrong.

My third mistake was to read your comments on my letter - I could have done without that - but i guess vanity is in me, embedded - Buddha was right - 'Cast your vanity and ego to the ground first .'

My fourth mistake is (huh !) to explain myself again. Hence this letter, I should not have written.

My fifth mistake , I shall NOT make, is to read your comments, on my comments. Please feel free to comment amongst yourselves. I dont do Saturday Xwords anyway, they are out of my league.

My sixth mistake I shall not make is go past the first page of the blog ever again.

DUPLICATE LETTER - I am a beginner at email letters .. this is my second one. After parsing it 4 times for length, I submitted my previous letter - and tried to get back to work ..... but the website page kept asking me for a "Form Resubmission". Honest !I was in a quandary - either to have a duplicate submission - or to lose 90 mins. worth of carefully composed ad hoc typing. I had no hard copy with me. So I resubmitted. I thought the web manager would have deleted such an obvious error. I am very surprised that people should think this was a deliberate act - for emphasis no less !

To C.C. .... there was nothing in that letter that implied to hurt or insult you. By reading your numerous blogs, I admire you and your scholarship every day. I thought that letter made that very clear. Thank you.

To Dennis : - I should have seen this coming. I have read your letters on previous blogs before. To reply to you would be counterproductive.

I am accused of being , amongst other things - Pompous - I described myself merely to inform that I was not a yahoo from the boondocks. My sincere apologies, in advance, to all those who consider themselves yahoos and those from the boondocks ( wherever it may be ... ). With everything else, I don't want to charged with racial insensitivity, as well.

So, if you are from the boondocks, please feel free to substitute some other place, like California or Florida, for example.

Gary, (and I know you'll read this, whether you comment or not, because your overly-long posts scream of pomposity and vanity), the reason people went after you is simple: This is C.C.'s time to celebrate a tremendous accomplishment, and she's rightfully ecstatic, as we are for her. Then you come along and rain on her parade with your long-winded rant about how worthless her accomplishment truly is. Number one, that was truly ignorant of you, and number two, if you're that unhappy with your citizenship, renounce it and go ruin someone else's day.

By the way, your seventh mistake was in attacking U.S. citizenship on THIS blog.

The freedom of speech is not tested by affirmative votes . It is tested by unpopular or even odious points of view. Bitter people spewing vitriol ensure and insure the freedom of speech.

Emma Lazarus, whose poem graces the Statue of Liberty, was a reputed anarchist - who herself was forcibly deported from the US.

TO Seen not Heard : - May I say, I agree, that English should be more phonetic, and needs drastic reform - even if it spells the death knell on Spelling Bees.

India has 28 languages ( 16 'recognized' officially ) , each with its own grammar, vocabulary and script - I know only 4 - but I do know that they are all phonetic - and there are no Spelling Bees anywhere.

To: Clear Ayes: - Your criticism is duly noted. Your tone was pleasant and I thank you for any compliments in the article. May I add, I am a very gregarious person and move well across society ... both professionally and in personal groups ... I am fun to be with and avoid confrontation to a fault. I merely wanted to distinguish between US citizenship and political power. Unfortunately the written word does not convey a tone - which would have been much milder.

You are right, there is discrimination everywhere, ... but one takes it with a pinch of salt, and a thickened skin - as a cost of doing business.

To "An Indian who ...." - the Queen's English is British english , what I learnt at school and am slowly unlearning - it is not better than the english spoken here - merely different - and probably more grammatical.

If that is Pompous - so be it.

To Windhover:- I am from India. The difference between US and India is like between Sky and Earth. I would not read or write any blogs in India - it is meaningless.

I have lived here as a 'good citizen' for 40 years - employed myself meaningfully and productively, worked for the community, paid my taxes, done charity, have done no evil, broken no laws, misdemeanors or otherwise, dont drink, gamble or fool around. That is Patriotism. Forgive me, if after 40 years, I should pretend to think like an American - hold myself and my family and the society around me to a higher standard, not found elsewhere in the world.

That people should expect me to renounce my citizenship for an unpopular ( or even odious ) opinion is exactly the point of my previous letter - the existence of blatant racial discrimination. I am an American, first and last, and if you have a problem with it - that is your problem.

The ACLU went to the Supreme court in Illinois, long ago, to allow the socalled NAZI's to march in Skokie, for precisely the same reason.

I have 7 more pages ( and many hours of unbillable time, wasted in this effort ) - but that would belabor the point.

Hello,everyone. Though I am an infrequent blog contributor, and a weak puzzler, I would like to add my congratulations to CC for her decision and accomplishment to become a U S citizen.Cynicism is running rampant these days, and even I have to question my own reactions on occasion.I'm holding my own,not like some. I was just Doug when in AZ but feel the need to brag about the weather here if not the three game losing streak by the Twins.Everyone hold your chins up, and see the "good stuff"although these days we may have to peek around the corner

GDI:On this blog, and in a great of life, it's all unbillable time. I happen to own my own time, and sell very little of it. And just so you know that there was no xenophobia in my reply to you, my oldest son, born on the 4th of July, 1965, is married to a woman who was born in India, and is naturalized. My grandchildren are, here it comes, half Indian, and American. As I said to you before, your offense here was not in criticizing this country or culture. I do that most days of my life, and to some extent with my life. Your offense was to try and cheapen the celebration that is ongoing here in honor of the creator of the blog. However well you meant, that was in fact the result. Others, and occasionally I, have gotten off to a bad start here and later been redeemed. Your post, as Dennis said was left intact, as have been much worse. There are only a few with the ability to censor, and they are very sparing with that power. If there are points you would like to debate, many of us have made our Email public.

I thought his second 'contribution' had a better tone than his first one. I think his ego must be HUGE to jump into a new group with posts like that.

BTW, I don't think English should be more phonetic as he said. It would lose its character and the words would lose their history (origins). It would make spelling easy though. Somebody told me that since Spanish is phonetic, there is little or no attention paid to spelling.

Gary D'Indian, OK, you're not going to read this, but I have to use my 5th post today some way or another.

Your first post, "and a US citizenship, whether framed in Silver or Gold, does not count for a hill of beans" and, "there is some upside to owning a US passport .... the TSA agents at the airports still treat you with suspicion, bordering on outright contempt - but they cant ship you off to 'Gitmo'".

As has been noted on this blog many times before,the written word does not convey a tone. You may not have meant to belittle C.C.'s achievement, but you didn't allow yourself much wiggle room for those comments to be taken any other way.

I don't think anyone suggested that obtaining US citizenship is "a panacea to all ills". But the point of all the congratulations yesterday is that it means a lot to C.C., and she means a lot to us.

Just a gal from the boondocks...really, I'm not kidding...and California boondocks at that...YIKES! Have a great evening everyone.

PS, Windhover, you read my mind...I could have saved myself the above typing!

Hi!Hard puzzle today for me, needed a lot of help.I am just watching (listening) to the last three Spelling Bee contestants. What a good bunch of kids. Our Wisconsinite ended up 5th, what an accomplishment!

I had a great uncle named Anson. I think they called him Anse sometimes.My husband is a retired Pastor and he never heard of "Odes of Solomon."

...to end on a lighter note, here is an old joke that will be fun for the anagram-ers, will probably bother the spelling purist and probably off-end all those with larger than average "dare-ree-airs" (speuld fonetikly.)

A rather large man went into a "big-box" store and said, "I gotta have me one of them air conditioners. I`m about tuh melt and run down in my shoes!" The clerk said, "Sir, how many BTU`s do you need?" The customer said, " I donno...just gimme enuf BTU`s to cool a b-u-t as big as a t-u-b!"

As an historical correction, "Emma Lazarus, whose poem graces the Statue of Liberty, was a reputed anarchist - who herself was forcibly deported from the US"

I think your 7:14 commenter confused Emma Lazarus, who was an American citizen born in New York City, with Emma Goldman, who was born in Russia, lived in the United States for 35 years and was an outspoken political activist and anarchist. She was deported to Russia and eventually died in Toronto Canada in 1940.

Oh, the things you miss when you look elsewhere for a little entertainment. To think that I don't need to spend my time out in the tules to have a little fun! I know we're not supposed to mention him again, But I want everyone here to know that I qualify for Mensa, too, and I don't talk or write anything like that. Do I? Oh, as a Californian that also lives in the Boondocks, He managed to offend me twice with one comment.

C.C., C3, C3PO, I'm still awed at your accomplishment and wish to rescind my comment from yesterday. If you run for public office and are elected, I will continue to respect you and will have to admit to knowing one honest politician.

On to the puzzle. I was attempting to complete it while grilling several hundred burgers for an end-of-year trip for the 8th graders of the school from which I retired last June. That made it a slow but tasty process for me. Some strange things came very easy: UNITARDS, ATONAL, ORANG, TRUST ME, INLET and all the themes except YETI. Some obvious answers refused to come without major perps. Had Roo for DOE. EDS was over my head, even though I filled it in right after ezine, which I can't countenance either.

I never saw HOT. I had SHAMU, LORAN, and MAR_INI early, so I never read that clue.

One final error: Inbue was left, because I never, ever, ever heard of endue or Bede and ADAs are how schools calculate finances. I knew it wasn't right, but oh, well.

Jazz, like your horns. My mother signed me up for band in grade school and I tortured a trombone (and band teacher) for 3 years before she finally admitted I was tone deaf and had no business suffering and making others suffer like that. My very musical sisters laugh about it every time we get together.

L714, I always thought it was "I yams what I yam!"

Our skirt when I was a TYKE was green felt. Ours was red plaid, but she took it with her and I haven't found a new green felt replacement.

I meant to comment on the lichen yesterday but was distracted by some minor unimportant announcement. The brown mossy stuff may be dying moss, but there are still clumps of green moss scattered on the rocks, so I believe it's lichen. The yellow in the foreground, the whitish gray all over and probably the small red object in the bottom left are all lichens. xtulmkr wrote a nice description, but neglected to mention that they are universally nutritious. The problem is they are bland not TASTY if they don't taste like 9D.

Jerome, you offended me too. I'm a bigger jerk than Dennis, and as much a punk as Windy. I demand to be included.

Gary, from wherever you are in the good 'ole U S of A...have a drink and chill out. For you to take a hit at our number 1 gal C.C. and then Dennis and Windhover you have no chance for survival unless you come back as an anon.

I have one word of advice for you, and it's BITE ME, you might like it, I've been told it's worth the effort. Somehow, this blonde has managed to get a degree or two too. Does a second degree burn count?